Fighting in the biggest flare-up in years between Armenia and neighbouring Azerbaijan continued on Monday, with shelling reported in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. According to media, Armenian and Azeri forces exchanged fierce fire, with the sides accusing each other of using heavy artillery and reports of at least 21 deaths and hundreds of people being wounded.

Foreigners holding certain types of visas and residence permits will be permitted to return to China starting next week as the threat of coronavirus continues to recede.

Chinese President Xi Jinping promised a major campaign against climate change on Tuesday, telling the UN General Assembly that his country wanted to become climate neutral before 2060, dpa reported. "We aim to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060," Xi said. It was China's first stated target for climate neutrality.

Openly challenging the monarchy of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn, thousands of protesters marched in Bangkok on Sunday to present demands that include a call for reforms to curb his powers.

Just nine hours after Japan's new minister for administrative reform launched an online system for reporting excessive bureaucracy and red tape, it hit a snag: too many complaints.

Yoshihide Suga was elected Japan's prime minister by parliament on Wednesday, with the country's first new leader in nearly eight years forming a Cabinet filled with familiar faces as he vows to stay the course set by his predecessor Shinzo Abe, Kyodo News reported.

Coronavirus vaccines being developed in China may be ready for use by the general public as early as November, an official with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. China has four Covid-19 vaccines in the final stage of clinical trials. At least three of those have already been offered to essential workers under an emergency use programme launched in July.

Japan’s Yoshihide Suga, a long-time ally of outgoing PM Shinzo Abe, won a ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership election on Monday, news wires reported. The victory paved the way for him to become prime minister in a parliamentary vote this week.

The peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents officially opened in Qatar’s capital Doha on Saturday, marking the start of a process aimed at ending two decades of war that has killed tens of thousands, news wires reported. The 19-year conflict is also the United States’ longest overseas military action.

China and India announced they had agreed to de-escalate renewed tensions on their contested Himalayan border and take steps to restore “peace and tranquillity” following a high-level diplomatic meeting in Moscow on Thursday, news wires reported.